IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i14p7561-d595226.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Review of Associations between Built Environment Characteristics and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Risk

Author

Listed:
  • Jingjing Wang

    (Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China
    School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China)

  • Xueying Wu

    (Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China)

  • Ruoyu Wang

    (Institute of Geography, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK)

  • Dongsheng He

    (Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PX, UK)

  • Dongying Li

    (Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Linchuan Yang

    (Department of Urban and Rural Planning, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China)

  • Yiyang Yang

    (Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China)

  • Yi Lu

    (Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China
    City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has stimulated intensive research interest in its transmission pathways and infection factors, e.g., socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, climatology, baseline health conditions or pre-existing diseases, and government policies. Meanwhile, some empirical studies suggested that built environment attributes may be associated with the transmission mechanism and infection risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, no review has been conducted to explore the effect of built environment characteristics on the infection risk. This research gap prevents government officials and urban planners from creating effective urban design guidelines to contain SARS-CoV-2 infections and face future pandemic challenges. This review summarizes evidence from 25 empirical studies and provides an overview of the effect of built environment on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk. Virus infection risk was positively associated with the density of commercial facilities, roads, and schools and with public transit accessibility, whereas it was negatively associated with the availability of green spaces. This review recommends several directions for future studies, namely using longitudinal research design and individual-level data, considering multilevel factors and extending to diversified geographic areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingjing Wang & Xueying Wu & Ruoyu Wang & Dongsheng He & Dongying Li & Linchuan Yang & Yiyang Yang & Yi Lu, 2021. "Review of Associations between Built Environment Characteristics and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Risk," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7561-:d:595226
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7561/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7561/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Quynh C. Nguyen & Yuru Huang & Abhinav Kumar & Haoshu Duan & Jessica M. Keralis & Pallavi Dwivedi & Hsien-Wen Meng & Kimberly D. Brunisholz & Jonathan Jay & Mehran Javanmardi & Tolga Tasdizen, 2020. "Using 164 Million Google Street View Images to Derive Built Environment Predictors of COVID-19 Cases," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-13, September.
    2. Kevin Credit, 2020. "Neighbourhood inequity: Exploring the factors underlying racial and ethnic disparities in COVID‐19 testing and infection rates using ZIP code data in Chicago and New York," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 1249-1271, December.
    3. Reid Ewing & Robert Cervero, 2010. "Travel and the Built Environment," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(3), pages 265-294.
    4. Behrouz Pirouz & Sina Shaffiee Haghshenas & Behzad Pirouz & Sami Shaffiee Haghshenas & Patrizia Piro, 2020. "Development of an Assessment Method for Investigating the Impact of Climate and Urban Parameters in Confirmed Cases of COVID-19: A New Challenge in Sustainable Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2021. "Global assessment of environment, health and economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5005-5015, April.
    6. Shima Hamidi & Sadegh Sabouri & Reid Ewing, 2020. "Does Density Aggravate the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 86(4), pages 495-509, October.
    7. Jackson, R.J. & Dannenberg, A.L. & Frumkin, H., 2013. "Health and the built environment: 10 years after," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(9), pages 1542-1544.
    8. Sharmin, Samia & Kamruzzaman, Md., 2017. "Association between the built environment and children's independent mobility: A meta-analytic review," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 104-117.
    9. Tao Hu & Han Yue & Changzhen Wang & Bing She & Xinyue Ye & Regina Liu & Xinyan Zhu & Weihe Wendy Guan & Shuming Bao, 2020. "Racial Segregation, Testing Site Access, and COVID-19 Incidence Rate in Massachusetts, USA," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Sneha Gautam & Luc Hens, 2020. "COVID-19: impact by and on the environment, health and economy," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 4953-4954, August.
    11. Molloy, Joseph & Schatzmann, Thomas & Schoeman, Beaumont & Tchervenkov, Christopher & Hintermann, Beat & Axhausen, Kay W., 2021. "Observed impacts of the Covid-19 first wave on travel behaviour in Switzerland based on a large GPS panel," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 43-51.
    12. Yi Lu & Long Chen & Yiyang Yang & Zhonghua Gou, 2018. "The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-13, September.
    13. Gaskin, Darrell J. & Zare, Hossein & Delarmente, Benjo A., 2021. "Geographic disparities in COVID-19 infections and deaths: The role of transportation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 35-46.
    14. Xin Li & Lin Zhou & Tao Jia & Ran Peng & Xiongwu Fu & Yuliang Zou, 2020. "Associating COVID-19 Severity with Urban Factors: A Case Study of Wuhan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-20, September.
    15. Heyuan You & Xin Wu & Xuxu Guo, 2020. "Distribution of COVID-19 Morbidity Rate in Association with Social and Economic Factors in Wuhan, China: Implications for Urban Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho, 2022. "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine Conflict on Land Use across the World," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Yong Xu & Chunlan Guo & Jinxin Yang & Zhenjie Yuan & Hung Chak Ho, 2023. "Modelling Impact of High-Rise, High-Density Built Environment on COVID-19 Risks: Empirical Results from a Case Study of Two Chinese Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Marija Jevtic & Vlatka Matkovic & Milica Paut Kusturica & Catherine Bouland, 2022. "Build Healthier: Post-COVID-19 Urban Requirements for Healthy and Sustainable Living," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Megan Heckert & Amanda Bristowe, 2021. "Parks and the Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Research on Green Infrastructure Use and Health Outcomes during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-17, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alireza Dehghani & Mehdi Alidadi & Ayyoob Sharifi, 2022. "Compact Development Policy and Urban Resilience: A Critical Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Nushrat Nazia & Zahid Ahmad Butt & Melanie Lyn Bedard & Wang-Choi Tang & Hibah Sehar & Jane Law, 2022. "Methods Used in the Spatial and Spatiotemporal Analysis of COVID-19 Epidemiology: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-28, July.
    3. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander, 2022. "The geography of COVID-19 in Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 68(1), pages 125-150, February.
    4. Sharmin, Samia & Kamruzzaman, Md. & Haque, Md Mazharul, 2020. "The impact of topological properties of built environment on children independent mobility: A comparative study between discretionary vs. nondiscretionary trips in Dhaka," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Bopaki Phogole & Kowiyou Yessoufou, 2023. "Greener Neighbourhoods Show Resilience to the Spread but Not Severity of COVID-19 Infection in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Hongjik Kim & Chihiro Shimizu, 2022. "The Relationship between Geographic Accessibility to Neighborhood Facilities, Remote Work, and Changes in Neighborhood Satisfaction after the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Yang, Hongtai & Luo, Peng & Li, Chaojing & Zhai, Guocong & Yeh, Anthony G.O., 2023. "Nonlinear effects of fare discounts and built environment on ridesplitting adoption rates," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Andy Hong & Sandip Chakrabarti, 2023. "Compact living or policy inaction? Effects of urban density and lockdown on the COVID-19 outbreak in the US," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(9), pages 1588-1609, July.
    9. Faan Chen & Adriano Borges Costa, 2024. "Exploring the causal effects of the built environment on travel behavior: a unique randomized experiment in Shanghai," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 215-245, February.
    10. Fabienne Cantner & Nico Nachtigall & Lisa S. Hamm & Andrea Cadavid & Lennart Adenaw & Allister Loder & Markus B. Siewert & Sebastian Goerg & Markus Lienkamp & Klaus Bogenberger, 2022. "A nation-wide experiment: fuel tax cuts and almost free public transport for three months in Germany -- Report 2 First wave results," Papers 2206.10510, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2022.
    11. Qiang Niu & Wanxian Wu & Jie Shen & Jiaxin Huang & Qiling Zhou, 2021. "Relationship between Built Environment and COVID-19 Dispersal Based on Age Stratification: A Case Study of Wuhan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-17, July.
    12. Frank, Lawrence D. & Fox, Eric H. & Ulmer, Jared M. & Chapman, James E. & Braun, Lindsay M., 2022. "Quantifying the health benefits of transit-oriented development: Creation and application of the San Diego Public Health Assessment Model (SD-PHAM)," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 14-26.
    13. Khadem Sameni, Melody & Barzegar Tilenoie, Amine & Dini, Niloofar, 2021. "Will modal shift occur from subway to other modes of transportation in the post-corona world in developing countries?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 82-89.
    14. Ru Wang & Lingbo Liu & Hao Wu & Zhenghong Peng, 2022. "Correlation Analysis between Urban Elements and COVID-19 Transmission Using Social Media Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-17, April.
    15. James Duminy, 2023. "Critical Commentary: Beyond growth and density: Recentring the demographic drivers of urban health and risk in the global south," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(8), pages 1365-1376, June.
    16. Yong Xu & Chunlan Guo & Jinxin Yang & Zhenjie Yuan & Hung Chak Ho, 2023. "Modelling Impact of High-Rise, High-Density Built Environment on COVID-19 Risks: Empirical Results from a Case Study of Two Chinese Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-15, January.
    17. Kangwei Tu & Andras Reith, 2023. "Changes in Urban Planning in Response to Pandemics: A Comparative Review from H1N1 to COVID-19 (2009–2022)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-20, June.
    18. Yufang Zhang & Terry van Dijk & Cor Wagenaar, 2022. "How the Built Environment Promotes Residents’ Physical Activity: The Importance of a Holistic People-Centered Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-19, May.
    19. Crowley, Frank & Daly, Hannah & Doran, Justin & Ryan, Geraldine & Caulfield, Brian, 2021. "The impact of labour market disruptions and transport choice on the environment during COVID-19," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 185-195.
    20. Wei, Ming, 2022. "How does the weather affect public transit ridership? A model with weather-passenger variations," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7561-:d:595226. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.